My engine ceased at 165k miles. We removed the spark plugs and coolant was leaking from the two driver side cylinders closest to the driver.

I'm in the process of taking her apart to replace the gaskets. My question is, once it's taken apart, how can I check if the actual cylinder wasn't damaged from heat?

 

Take it to a qualified machinist. Most aluminum heads at that mileage will need to be planed especially if they have have overheated.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQpXk...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r85j2...eature=related

 

so you're saying my best bet is to just take the actual head to someone to take a look at it?

is there anything else that could be causing coolant to come out of there?

 

i just want to know all the things i should look for while it's apart so i dont have to do it again...

 

Yes take it to a known machinist/rebuilder. You always get the heads inspected by a machinist especially aluminum ones. Call around and see who the dealerships and indy shops send their work to My guy is a machinist and also rebuilds heads. At your mileage may be a good idea to remove your valves and inspect and flatten/hone them.

 

ditto to all above..........only your machinist will know! let's assume you only want to do this repair once....better to have the heads checked out / valve job done/ valve springs shimmed if necessarry now than later( while everything's apart now). My local shop charged me only $200. for cleaning,resurfacing, valve job ...etc.
good luck